Monday, May 7
Tallahassee, FL
All Day
University of Washington
vs
NCAA Regionals
Historic Round One at NCAA Regionals as Keh sets School Record, UW in First
May 07, 2018 | Women's Golf
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – University of Washington junior Wenyung Keh etched her name into a few different record books during Monday's first round at the 2018 NCAA Tallahassee Regional as she carded a 9-under 63 to set not only the UW single-round record but also the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course record. Keh additionally helped UW break the school single-round team record as well as UW posted a 15-under 273 to sit atop the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's second round.
Washington placed three players in the top 10 following the first 18 holes as juniors Sarah Rhee and Julianne Alvarez are tied for third and 10th, respectively. Additionally, its 15-under 273 is the best first round score by any team at an NCAA Regional since 2009 when Arizona State also recorded that score in round one of the West Regional.
"You want to start out good because you can't win the tournament on the first day but you want to kind of put yourself behind an eight ball and to come out now and just build on that momentum and feel like you're going in the right direction," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "Everyone contributed today and Wenyung's round was just unbelievable golf and she's been so close. We keep saying she's due to win and so is Sarah [Rhee] because they've been hitting the ball so well. It's just really fun to see them go out there and really play exceptional golf."
Keh passed former UW record holder Dodie Mazzuca who had held the mark for over 20 years when she shot a 7-under 65 at Sahallee CC in 1997. Washington's 273 breaks the best 18-hole score record that was set on March 9, 2015 (9-under 275) and the best first-round record set on October 11, 2011 (7-under 277).
With birdies on half of her holes, Keh was relentless in her play. She opened with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole and followed with more on the 14th, 15th and 18th. After making the turn she added two more on holes one and two for three-straight under par. After two more on the fourth and the seventh, Keh closed the day in front of the team with a birdie on the ninth thanks to a beautiful chip shot that put her right next to the pin.
"I felt like today I just made sure I was staying in the present and focusing on one shot at a time and just being there for every shot," said Keh. "I didn't think about score or anything. It still feels pretty unreal. I felt like I was playing just pretty average and wasn't hitting it especially great but it just happened. It's good to see the team doing well as a whole and it's good to get off to a start like that but today's in the past and tomorrow's a new game."
Following her just two places back on the leaderboard is Rhee who posted a career-best 5-under 67 to sit tied for third. Her scorecard was also blemish-free as she made the turn at 3-under thanks to birdies on two par-4s and a par-3. The junior added two more on the back nine, also making birdie to close the round on hole nine. Rhee has now posted scores of 68 or better in the first round in three-straight events.
Alvarez sits tied for 10th thanks to a 2-under 70 for her first sub-par scorecard in 10 rounds. The junior also opened the day with a birdie on her first hole, the par-5 10th. She added a bogey on the 15th hole but quickly bounced back with a birdie on the 16th to bring her back to under par where she would stay for the remainder of the round. She joined Keh and Rhee in recording a birdie on the final hole of the day to finish with her 2-under.
Playing in her first regionals as a Husky, freshman Rino Sasaki posted a 1-over 73 to sit tied for 33rd. Rounding out the UW contingent was sophomore Karen Miyamoto who is tied for 76th with a 6-over 78. Additionally, Washington's 21 birdies on the day tied for the most out of the 18 teams.
Second round action begins on Tuesday morning at 6:50 a.m. PT for the Dawgs who will be paired with seventh-ranked Furman and second-ranked Alabama.
UW Scoring
1. Wenyung Keh, 63 (-9)
T3. Sarah Rhee, 67 (-5)
T10. Julianne Alvarez, 70 (-2)
T34. Rino Sasaki, 73 (+1)
T78. Karen Miyamoto, 78 (+6)
Washington placed three players in the top 10 following the first 18 holes as juniors Sarah Rhee and Julianne Alvarez are tied for third and 10th, respectively. Additionally, its 15-under 273 is the best first round score by any team at an NCAA Regional since 2009 when Arizona State also recorded that score in round one of the West Regional.
"You want to start out good because you can't win the tournament on the first day but you want to kind of put yourself behind an eight ball and to come out now and just build on that momentum and feel like you're going in the right direction," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "Everyone contributed today and Wenyung's round was just unbelievable golf and she's been so close. We keep saying she's due to win and so is Sarah [Rhee] because they've been hitting the ball so well. It's just really fun to see them go out there and really play exceptional golf."
Keh passed former UW record holder Dodie Mazzuca who had held the mark for over 20 years when she shot a 7-under 65 at Sahallee CC in 1997. Washington's 273 breaks the best 18-hole score record that was set on March 9, 2015 (9-under 275) and the best first-round record set on October 11, 2011 (7-under 277).
With birdies on half of her holes, Keh was relentless in her play. She opened with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole and followed with more on the 14th, 15th and 18th. After making the turn she added two more on holes one and two for three-straight under par. After two more on the fourth and the seventh, Keh closed the day in front of the team with a birdie on the ninth thanks to a beautiful chip shot that put her right next to the pin.
"I felt like today I just made sure I was staying in the present and focusing on one shot at a time and just being there for every shot," said Keh. "I didn't think about score or anything. It still feels pretty unreal. I felt like I was playing just pretty average and wasn't hitting it especially great but it just happened. It's good to see the team doing well as a whole and it's good to get off to a start like that but today's in the past and tomorrow's a new game."
Following her just two places back on the leaderboard is Rhee who posted a career-best 5-under 67 to sit tied for third. Her scorecard was also blemish-free as she made the turn at 3-under thanks to birdies on two par-4s and a par-3. The junior added two more on the back nine, also making birdie to close the round on hole nine. Rhee has now posted scores of 68 or better in the first round in three-straight events.
Alvarez sits tied for 10th thanks to a 2-under 70 for her first sub-par scorecard in 10 rounds. The junior also opened the day with a birdie on her first hole, the par-5 10th. She added a bogey on the 15th hole but quickly bounced back with a birdie on the 16th to bring her back to under par where she would stay for the remainder of the round. She joined Keh and Rhee in recording a birdie on the final hole of the day to finish with her 2-under.
Playing in her first regionals as a Husky, freshman Rino Sasaki posted a 1-over 73 to sit tied for 33rd. Rounding out the UW contingent was sophomore Karen Miyamoto who is tied for 76th with a 6-over 78. Additionally, Washington's 21 birdies on the day tied for the most out of the 18 teams.
Second round action begins on Tuesday morning at 6:50 a.m. PT for the Dawgs who will be paired with seventh-ranked Furman and second-ranked Alabama.
UW Scoring
1. Wenyung Keh, 63 (-9)
T3. Sarah Rhee, 67 (-5)
T10. Julianne Alvarez, 70 (-2)
T34. Rino Sasaki, 73 (+1)
T78. Karen Miyamoto, 78 (+6)
42 for Mary Lou ☔️💜
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